Upon the expiration of the freshness date of dairy products such as milk, cottage cheese and the like, the product is collected from the retail shelves by the route distributor and usually is returned in its original container to the dairy or processor for disposal. Ecological factors make the disposal of such product difficult. In some localities, disposal of the product through the sanitary system or storm system is prohibited. Moreover, the product must be removed from its container before it is dumped.
In some cases, the stale dairy product is packed in crates and is either sold or donated to farmers who break open the cartons and use the product for feeding hogs and other animals. Dairies, however, are becoming more and more reluctant to use this method of disposal because of the possibility of salmonella resulting from unsanitized empty crates being returned from the farm to the dairy.